


Sporting Blood

by cuddlesome



Category: Strange Men (Video Games), The Boogie Man - Fandom
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:00:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4738751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlesome/pseuds/cuddlesome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David asks about Keith's state of dishevelment while they investigate the castle and gets a less than pleasant response.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sporting Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Two days after this game comes out and I'm already writing a dumb little genfic for it, I'm so weak.
> 
> Spoilers, but fairly minor and from the beginning of the game.

  
Keith doesn’t seem to think the bloodstains all over his shirt front are worth explaining. In fact, he outright ignores whenever David stares at them as opposed to meeting Keith’s sullen eyes.

How had Richard brought himself to hug Keith when he had that much blood on him? Of course, David couldn’t think of many times it would be appropriate to hug someone so grim and aggressive, bloodstains or not, and evidently Keith didn’t think so either based on the way he shoved Richard away.

Maybe having a devil-may-care attitude regarding what most people would find viscerally disturbing is a detective thing. More likely just a Keith Baring thing.

In any case, David can’t disregard the blood, even when he’s not looking at it. The smell is overpowering while he walks behind Keith through the castle halls, musty and metallic. David’s stomach roils at the familiarity.

“Keith?”

Keith doesn’t turn around, but grunts in acknowledgement.

“What’s the deal with your shirt? You look like you just walked out of a meat packaging factory. And what happened to your suit jacket?” David tries to keep it casual and light, but really there’s no nice way to ask. When Keith hesitates, David carries on. “You don’t have to keep acting tough if you got hurt.”

Keith finally looks over his shoulder, albeit only for a moment, and David drops his gaze. Keith snorts softly and looks forward again.

“Thanks for your concern, but it’s misplaced. This isn’t my blood.”

“Oh.” David can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not. “Whose is it?”

He likes to imagine Keith somehow got a stab in at the Boogie Man even if he knows firsthand the chances of getting close enough to cause any injury are low to none.

“You don’t want to know,” Keith says, pausing to read a painting placard.

He probably doesn’t, but David presses on anyway. “What happened?”

“You’re a persistent brat, aren’t you?” Keith turns around to face him and David forces himself to look him in the eye this time. “I found a dead servant. Decapitated. He had something in his mouth that I had to stick my hand in to investigate. Turned out to be a water gun filled with blood. At that point in time I wasn’t very wise to that big-headed freak’s traps.”

David gags. He finds it far too easy to picture Keith shoving his hand into a disembodied head, eyes blank and expression taut as he prised the jaw open to make it fit. Had it not been for that water gun he probably would have kept pushing until his hand came out through the other side–

David gags again and massages his neck.

Keith’s lips twitch. “I told you that you wouldn’t want to hear it, but I suppose I should know by now you never listen to me.”

He pivots and walks out of the room. He’s fast enough that he leaves David in a momentary panic as he tries to decide whether Keith went left or right, knowing that with the size of the castle a wrong turn could have them separated for quite some time. Mercifully, Keith calls out to him and David joins back up behind him.

“Don’t do that.”

Either Keith’s not paying attention or he doesn’t want to dignify what David said with a response because he just keeps walking. Asshole. Who was it that never listened, really?

After some time David decides to try talking to him again. “Is the reason for you not having your jacket any less traumatizing?”

Keith is inspecting a grate on a very, very dirty floor. He doesn’t seem to notice the grime, but then it’s not surprising since he barely acknowledges his bloodied shirt. He doesn’t bother to look up when he responds.

“I gave it to Stevie. There wasn’t anything I could do to save him, so I figured I should at least make him comfortable.” Keith pauses, then adds, “He said he was cold.”

David doesn’t know what to say, so he just nods in spite of knowing Keith can’t see it.

While David appreciates that he leaves out all the gory details this time around, he resolves not to ask Keith any more questions unless absolutely necessary. It’s debatable how many more answers involving dead or dying bodies his psyche can take.


End file.
